MPs warn of critical skill shortages in armed forces

The armed forces are suffering from a critical shortage of key personnel, forcing the Ministry of Defence to break its own guidelines for the time soldiers should be allowed to recover between operations, a cross-party committee of MPs warns today. The guidelines also cover periods needed for training.

A report by the Commons defence committee, based on information provided by the MoD, says: "We are concerned that there are critical shortages, in various specialist trades, in all three services, including aircrew and medical personnel." Though it notes that the shortfall in medics has been reduced to 20%, the committee warns that the shortages in a "vital area" remain substantial.

The army is short of anaesthetists, orthopaedic surgeons, general surgeons and nurses - skills which are having to be supplied by reservists. It is also short of mechanics, bomb disposal and intelligence officers. The navy is short of pilots, submariners and petty officers. There is a shortfall of nearly 5% in sailors and marines. The RAF is short of gunners, firefighters, mechanics and drivers.

Market research, says the report, shows that "parental disapproval of the army as a job has increased, reflecting perceptions of operations in Iraq and of army training and care in the wake of Deepcut [the Surrey barracks severely criticised over the deaths of four recruits]".

James Arbuthnot, the Conservative chairman of the committee, said last night: "The MoD must tackle the underlying causes as long-term overstretch will impact on operational effectiveness."

The MPs say they find it "hard to understand" why the procurement of four landing ship docks - "not particularly sophisticated" - was likely to cost £500m, some £200m more than originally estimated. They note that a £5m gift of nearly 500,000 British ration packs to help the US after Hurricane Katrina was stopped because they did not comply with regulations on imported processed meat.

The report says that some of the £400m savings reported by the MoD on some projects "cannot be validated". The shadow defence secretary, Liam Fox, said: "This report reinforces our view that overstretch is having a damaging impact on service personnel and their families. It is also a great concern that the government has been manipulating figures to hide the sheer scale of losses at the MoD."